Welfare Cutoff Rule Has Impact In Manchester

17 Exhausted Benefits In December

MANCHESTER — Seventeen people in town were among the first wave of general assistance recipients to be permanently cut off from benefits in December due to stricter guidelines.

Under a law that took effect July 1, 1995, state residents can receive general assistance for only 10 months the first year they apply. Then, after waiting two months, they can reapply to receive six months of benefits in the second year.

After that, a person is cut off from receiving the benefits for good.

Beth Stafford, town director of social services, said the town's caseload has been gradually shrinking in past months.

``We're seeing a drop,'' Stafford said. ``People have gone home or had more creative ways of making ends meet.''

At the beginning of this month, the town had 237 welfare cases, Stafford said. But Stafford pointed out that some people who no longer qualify for monthly payments may still qualify for medical coverage.

Previously, the town typically handled 350 general assistance cases a month. The cases involve individuals who do not qualify for other state and federal programs, but who are in need because of such problems as a job loss, disability or addiction.

The declining numbers are also the result of another change, which took effect July 1, when monthly benefits to people considered ``able-bodied and employable'' were dropped to $100 a month from higher amounts that varied according to the person's living arrangements.

Before stricter state requirements were passed, the town limited general assistance eligibility to nine-month periods. Recipients had to wait three months before reapplying for another nine-month period. But Stafford said the important distinction was that there was no permanent cutoff date.

Stafford said that, despite the declining case numbers, the need is still out there. She said the burden for caring for the poor is being shifted from the state and the town to churches and charitable organizations.

``There are people in need without any safety nets to catch them. . . All of us as a society will have to pick it up,'' Stafford said.

Karen Bergin, director of ministry development at the Manchester Area Conference of Churches, said the group's soup kitchen and food pantry are being used consistently and in slightly higher numbers than usual.

The organization is made up of a group of churches that work together to help the needy by providing services such as housing, food and clothing.

``[Not-for-profits] are really going to be stretching to meet the diminished resources,'' Bergin said.

The state will take over administering the town's general assistance program April 1, Stafford said.